West Brom manager plots double raid on Manchester United

West Brom manager Tony Pulis wants to sign Manchester United defenders Chris Smalling and Phil Jones this summer as he seeks to revamp his defensive options ahead of the new season, claims The Daily Mirror.

The Baggies have a history of signing former United players under Pulis and the West Brom manager wants that trend to continue, although it’s more likely Jose Mourinho will only allow one central defender to leave the club this summer.

United signed Victor Lindelof in a £31m deal earlier in the summer and he is expected to be first choice alongside Eric Bailly at the heart of Mourinho’s defensive plans.

With Marcos Rojo recovering from a long-term knee problem that is expected to keep him sidelined until the end of the year, Pulis may only be able to prize one defender away from Old Trafford.

Mourinho publicly accused the pair of being cautious through their rehabilitation from injuries and even claimed neither were willing to play through the pain barrier, which annoyed the United boss.

The West Brom manager is currently facing a battle to keep former Jonny Evans at the club after rejecting Leicester’s opening bid for the former United defender.

Big things were expected of Smalling and Jones when they joined in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Particularly Jones, who was billed as future United legend by then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but a series of injuries have prevented the England international from seriously establishing himself as a first-team regular.

Since August 2012, United have a far better win ratio in the Premier League without Jones in the starting XI (72.9%) compared to when he has been selected to start (46.8%).

For more stats on Phil Jones, click here to visit his WhoScored player page